SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGY Vassilios Kroustallis – Vice President – ABS Europe B y the time 2022 dawns shipowners will need to have engaged fully with the implications of the IMO’s medium term measures, the EEXI and CII. As of May 2021, almost 40 % of shipowners had still not im- plemented a decarbonization strategy despite these impending regulations. This issue needs to be top of the agenda now because both measures will have a broad impact and require changes to the way the majority of ships are operated. While it is possible to convert to a low carbon fuel and comply we think few owners will do this in © ABS practice, so the strategy will likely require an engine power reduction and the use of energy efficiency devices. Both will have an impact on performance and sailing speeds and could make some vessels more attractive to charterers than others. Owners will have to also be aware that their ability to raise finance will increasingly be dependent on meeting the ESG requirements of their principals and by demonstrating those credentials to lenders. While our focus remains on core safety services, we are increasingly responding to client needs for advice and input on how to comply with regulations and respond to market mechanisms. Despite the recent comments about the lifecycle emissions of using gas as fuel, a panel of experts and a survey of more than 400 attendees at an ABS webinar exploring decarbonization suggest there is still confidence in LNG’s potential to help reach regulatory goals in the coming decades.The third publication in the ABS Low Carbon Shipping series also highlighted LNG’s importance among the various alternative fuel options, looking into current ship designs, and how LNG can start a transition to alternative fuels. Owners of internationally-trading ships face increasingly complex investment decisions as they try to navigate the most efficient course to the lowcarbon future and it’s clear the industry needs LNG as a transitional fuel. It could also support the transition to zero-carbon and carbon-neutral fuels that are required to get the industry to 2050 such as Hydrogen. The regulatory framework for the development and use of new technology must remain up to date. This issue in part lies behind the formation by leading flag states and class societies of the Maritime Technologies Forum (MTF) which will undertake technical and regulatory research and provide expertise and leadership to assist the shipping sector and its regulators in addressing technology challenges. Key focus areas for the forum will include energy efficiency, alternative fuels and increasing levels of autonomy and MTF members will collaborate on research and draw on their collective regulatory expertise to offer unbiased advice to the shipping sector. ABS is focussed on how to secure containers safely given the challenges introduced by larger ships, higher container stacks, flexible bridges and increased stack weights. To address these complexities, we have enhanced our Guide for Certification of Container Securing Systems with new companion software, ABS C-LASH®. Central to the guide is a newly-developed nonlinear analysis procedure that represents a significant improvement over traditional formulas for container securing. Used with the ABS C-LASH, the Guide helps users evaluate mixed, external and internal lashings at multiple tiers and multiple lashing points, twist-lock gaps in both vertical and horizontal directions and the effect of lashing bridge flexibility. 48 HANSA – International Maritime Journal 08 | 2021
SCHIFFSTECHNIK | SHIP TECHNOLOGY S hipping’s decarbonisation is high on our agenda for 2022 and beyond. LR launched the »Maritime De- carbonisation Hub« in 2020 to help the shipping indus- try navigate the significant transition to zero-carbon and in the decade leading to 2030, we want to support changes with practical, pragmatic and commercially viable solutions. Specifically, fuel and fuel technology choice is a prominent topic, particularly when trying to predict and maximise the return for new vessel orders and to ensure future fuel availability and, with EEDI and CII metrics, to ensure existing tonnage remains competitively relevant during their service life. Clearly, these decisions depend on multiple factors; trading area, vessel type, technology readiness and commercial attractiveness and therefore there is no »one-size fits all« solution. Flexibility in this transition is the key word and as much of a dual fuel readiness, whether a combination of; VLSFO, LNGf, LPGf, ammonia, methanol, fuel cells, hydrogen or indeed nuclear can be assessed and in turn implemented during newbuildings over the next 2–3 years, the more compliant and competitive flexibility this will give. Clearly the challenge is not in the technology readiness but in the commercial impacts. That said, 2021 marks our 150-year anniversary operating in Germany, more than 260 years globally. While we continue to celebrate significant milestones such as these, our agenda hasn’t changed – our focus has always been our clients and the wider maritime industry. Helping stakeholders navigate major change remains central to LR and our role as a trusted advisor. Today, LNG-fuelled ships still make up a small fraction of the world fleet and in the case of LNG there was no commercial barrier. The barrier was in ensuring the supply of the fuel was available in the ports where it was needed. © LR Mark Darley Marine & Offshore Director Lloyd’s Register The first zero-carbon vessels will be dual fuel to address supply and infrastructure concerns. There won’t be pure hydrogen or ammonia vessels initially. There are strong views on LNG as fuel. Some owners who need to order now will probably look to LNG but like every marine fuel, current and future, it comes with its own portfolio of opportunities, challenges and uncertainties. These need to be recognised and built into investment decisions and it is important to remember the decarbonization of maritime is a journey over decades. Regulatory action is now one of the most important factors for shipping’s decarbonisation prospects. According to the decarbonisation survey, we and a partner conducted October through to December last year, respondents saw the »lack of clear, detailed regulations« as the single greatest potential barrier to decarbonisation. Bold policy and regulation is also needed to build market expectation that shipping will have sustainable economic activity which is worth investing in. This will likely remove uncertainty and allow the necessary capital to flow into the industry. Without this, it is difficult to see how an energy transition in shipping can happen. The Covid-19 pandemic has also highlighted the critical role seafarers play in keeping global supply chains open. Despite efforts made by international organisations, unions, companies and governments around the world in supporting crew transitions and welfare, the crew change crisis continues, and more action is needed to safeguard and protect seafarers. Specifically, fires onboard are a significant safety threat. Most containerships use smoke detection systems where air is continuously sucked through pipes and directed to a detector in the below deck cargo hold. Once smoke reaches the detector, an alarm is triggered, and the pipes automatically release CO 2 . One primary challenge is that this process is slow – by the time the smoke reaches the detector the conditions are too hostile for crew to enter and spraying CO 2 into the hatch may not be effective in tackling the fire within a container. Earlier this year, Safetytech Accelerator and Seaspan announced a pilot which hopes to improve realtime detection of potential fires below deck through the early detection of slight increases in a container’s temperature. This can enable smaller issues to be resolved before they become dangerous – protecting people and assets, as well as providing cost savings. HANSA – International Maritime Journal 08 | 2021 49
